GALAHAD — Nothing is Written (review)

Galahad's debut album showcases a band whose ability to mimic the sound of early Marillion is, for the most part, uncanny. Stuart Nicholson is rather the weakest link - he doesn't try to emulate Fish's vocal delivery, which I think is a wise choice; his own individual singing style really isn't up to much, and I don't get the impression it'd be improved by mimicry of Mr Dick's theatrical style! On the other hand, the rest of the band are somewhat better at emulating the Marillion style - in particular, Roy Keyworth has Steve Rothery's guitar style down cold.

This is not enough, however, to obscure the one aspect of early Marillion the band cannot emulate: their creativity. Sad to say, but this is one of the most uninspired and derivative collections of neo-prog songs I've ever heard, and the band simply never add enough of an individual twist to the album to really make it stand out amongst any of the many others who've ploughed this over-farmed furrow. There's simply no reason me to give Nothing is Written another listen when I could just put on Script For a Jester's Tear again.